Clang—!
Amid the ringing clash of steel, Kurosaki Rei was sent flying backward. This wasn't a sign of him being overwhelmed—instead, he had deliberately relaxed his body, allowing himself to be knocked away to dissipate the force.
Kokushibo's Moon Breathing was indeed extraordinary. Third Form: Loathsome Moon · Corrosion was a sword technique involving a wide, sweeping motion of the blade followed by a second strike. That god-speed double slash had been honed over countless years. In that brief instant, even Kurosaki Rei hadn't had time to properly adjust his stance.
All he could do was barely guard his vital points with Demon-Imprisoning Blade. Otherwise, even with Armament Haki coating his body, Kokushibo's strike would have cleaved him in two at the waist.
After this brief exchange, Kurosaki Rei understood something clearly. Although Kokushibo was merely Upper Rank One—technically Muzan's subordinate—in terms of direct combat strength, Kokushibo might not be weaker than Muzan at all. He might even be stronger.
When Kurosaki Rei had slashed at Muzan earlier, he had caught a glimpse of Kibutsuji Muzan's attributes:
Kibutsuji Muzan
Constitution: 46Strength: 41Agility: 42Spirit: 38Charm: 10
Judging purely by attributes, Muzan wasn't much stronger than Kokushibo. He was simply tougher—more resilient. As the Demon King, he possessed vastly superior survivability. Even losing his head wouldn't kill him, and his hyper-regeneration far surpassed that of other demons.
But Muzan's abilities were clearly skewed toward survival. His offensive power was mediocre, and because he always let his subordinates do the fighting, despite living for over a thousand years, he had accumulated very little refined combat skill.
In short, Muzan was the type with inflated stats but poor execution. In terms of battlefield threat, Kurosaki Rei considered him inferior to Kokushibo.
When Kokushibo used Moon Breathing, his attributes even received a slight boost, making his offensive power terrifying. If that blade landed cleanly, it was either death or crippling injury.
After being blown back, Kurosaki Rei crashed into a door. He planted his foot against it, kicked off, and shot upward—charging straight at Qingfeng.
His combat logic was simple: in chaotic battles, kill the enemy's support first. Otherwise, you'd get stabbed in the back later. Qingfeng was a powerful explorer, and who knew what strange tricks he might still have? Cutting him down first gave Kurosaki Rei peace of mind.
Seeing Kurosaki Rei streak toward him at blinding speed, Qingfeng found it utterly absurd. No matter how many transparent threads he wove, none of them could stop Kurosaki Rei.
His threads were invisible. He genuinely couldn't understand how Kurosaki Rei kept detecting his setups, always swinging his blade just before being sliced.
If his threads couldn't bypass Kurosaki Rei's perception, then they were nothing more than tough, sharp wires. Compared to the top three Upper Ranks, Qingfeng had no advantage at all—he was even weaker in frontal combat than the original Upper Rank Four.
He kept leaping across platforms, trying to shake Kurosaki Rei off. But Kurosaki Rei was far too fast. Within the Infinity Castle, he moved like true lightning incarnate, sonic booms ringing out endlessly.
This was a terrifying fact—it meant Kurosaki Rei's speed had already broken the sound barrier. That wasn't something a mere 40-point attribute should have been capable of.
"Damn it—what kind of footwork are you using?!" Qingfeng panicked.
He deliberately fled toward areas crowded with demons, but none of them—including an Upper Rank Eight—could slow Kurosaki Rei down even slightly. They were cut down in an instant.
In Qingfeng's mind, he was supposed to come to this world as a hero. How could he be slain by a "reactionary" like Kurosaki Rei?!
As Kurosaki Rei closed in, Qingfeng could only scream, "First Brother, save me!"
Kokushibo obliged—either out of courtesy or because he had already taken a shortcut to reach him. A single slash descended toward Kurosaki Rei, moonlight flooding the entire platform.
Because Kurosaki Rei's speed was so extreme, Kokushibo couldn't reliably predict his direction. So he unleashed countless vertical crescent slashes, covering a full 180 degrees in front of him—an attack meant to annihilate everything in the area.
Moon Breathing, Sixth Form: Eternal Night, Lonely Moon · Unending.
Yet the moment Kokushibo activated the technique, a storm of metallic clashes rang out across the platform. Sparks flashed at blinding frequency.
Kurosaki Rei had intercepted every single slash.
And he did so while still in high-speed forward motion—his overall speed barely diminished at all.
The instant the ringing stopped, just as Kokushibo realized what had happened, Kurosaki Rei's incantation finished. He raised his left hand and pointed at the fleeing Qingfeng.
"Bakudō No. 61: Rikujōkōrō."
Six beams of light erupted into existence, stabbing in from six directions and pinning Qingfeng in place, sealing his movement.
Kokushibo's six eyes widened slightly at the sight. In that brief moment of confusion, Kurosaki Rei broke through his blockade. With a thunderous sonic boom, he surged toward the immobilized Qingfeng.
No matter how Qingfeng struggled, he couldn't break free of the Six-Rod Light Prison quickly enough. Realization struck, and his face twisted in despair and rage.
"Fuck! You're a Shinigami?!"
At last, everything made sense.
That was why the demons Kurosaki Rei killed didn't disintegrate. Kurosaki Rei wasn't using a Nichirin Blade. He wasn't using poison either.
He was using a Zanpakutō.
When Kurosaki Rei severed a demon's head, he was cutting their soul itself. Death was absolute.
Kurosaki Rei didn't answer. As he passed Qingfeng, he casually severed his head, then reached out with his left hand and swept the deceased's loot chest straight into his storage space.
The Infinity Castle was too chaotic. He didn't want to risk losing track of his drops after the battle.
"What… what are you? Human or demon?!" Muzan cried out from afar, utterly shaken.
Seeing Kurosaki Rei use something like Rikujōkōrō—a bizarre "Blood Demon Art"—terrified Muzan even more than Kurosaki Rei's raw power.
For the first time, Muzan began to doubt his own existence.
Was he truly the only Demon King?
Could it be that the doctor from a thousand years ago had an even more perfect formula—one that created a being immune to sunlight and independent of devouring humans?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
Kurosaki Rei possessed a physical body far surpassing ordinary demons. He could unleash powerful, unfamiliar techniques to restrain Upper Rank Four. He didn't fear sunlight and could move freely.
After the terror came excitement.
Wasn't the perfect sun-immune being standing right in front of him?
If he could devour Kurosaki Rei… wouldn't he become a truly perfect lifeform?
Boom—!
A thunderous explosion below snapped Muzan back to reality.
Kokushibo had just clashed blades with Kurosaki Rei—and been blown away, crashing through countless doors before coming to a stop.
As for Akaza, after recovering and exchanging another punch with Kurosaki Rei, he fared even worse—Kurosaki Rei smashed his head clean off with a single blow.
If Kokushibo hadn't intervened, Akaza would have been finished on the spot.
Watching this brutal battlefield, Muzan's heart was torn.
Kurosaki Rei was far too troublesome. He might very well rival Tsugikuni Yoriichi from centuries ago. If Muzan personally joined the fight, there was no guarantee of victory—and he would be placing himself in genuine danger.
After a fierce internal struggle, Muzan made his decision.
He would gamble on the intelligence brought back by those "new employees."
According to reports from the now-dead Upper Rank Four and Upper Rank Eight, a girl named Nezuko had overcome sunlight. If Muzan could devour her, he might gain a "sunlight resistance"—becoming an immortal, perfect being.
Kurosaki Rei was currently trapped inside the Infinity Castle.
All Muzan needed to do was have his subordinates stall Kurosaki Rei here while he went to the Demon Slayer Corps' headquarters and slaughtered those irritating insects.
Based on his calculations, Nezuko was most likely under heavy protection—and thus located within fifty li of the spot where Kurosaki Rei had been dragged into the Infinity Castle.
That was the easier path.
Once he figured this out, Muzan smiled.
"Kokushibo, I'll leave this place to you. I'm going to perfect myself first. After that, I'll help you overcome sunlight as well."
A boss had to draw big pictures for his employees.
He didn't care about the other Twelve Kizuki, but Kokushibo was invaluable combat power. Muzan had to keep him loyal—at least long enough to stall Kurosaki Rei.
Of course, in Muzan's mind, Kokushibo's fate no longer mattered. As long as he could keep Kurosaki Rei trapped, once Muzan devoured Nezuko and returned stronger than ever, Kokushibo would be obsolete.
After that, maybe he'd avenge him and kill Kurosaki Rei.
Or maybe, after becoming the ultimate lifeform, he wouldn't care anymore—he'd just find a nice place and enjoy an eternal, peaceful existence.
"Rest assured, my lord," Kokushibo said, stepping out of the rubble. "I will personally cut him down."
Although he had been knocked back in his clash with Kurosaki Rei, he hadn't suffered serious injury.
At his and Muzan's level, as long as they weren't decapitated, even limbs severed by Breathing swordsmen could regenerate instantly. In Kokushibo's eyes, the advantage was still on their side.
Kurosaki Rei was clearly using a secret technique akin to the Demon Slayer Mark, forcefully boosting his power. Such a state undoubtedly consumed enormous stamina. In terms of endurance, Kokushibo was confident he held the edge.
Moreover, the Infinity Castle was filled with demons. Even if they couldn't injure Kurosaki Rei, they could still wear him down.
Indeed, after trading a blade with Kokushibo and separating, Kurosaki Rei didn't pursue him. Instead, he charged into the mass of other demons—slaughtering them like cutting vegetables, going on an outright rampage.
"Nakime," Muzan called.
She opened a door for him. Based on his estimated coordinates, Muzan stepped through—and emerged directly at the Demon Slayer Corps' headquarters.
The moment Muzan left the Infinity Castle, the explorers inside were stunned.
Then, they exploded.
"Fuck your mother, Muzan! Idiot boss! You piece of—!"
"Running away now? Are you brain-dead?!"
"Idiot Muzan! You could've gone after Nezuko anytime—why now?!"
"Damn it all! Can't you stop being such a coward and team up with First Brother?!"
"We're finished… this Kurosaki Rei isn't even human anymore. Even First Brother can't stop him—and now that dumbass Muzan ran off. Aren't we just waiting to die?!"
"..."
The explorers had completely given up on decorum, hurling curses at Muzan.
They had already analyzed Kurosaki Rei from his prior record—he was the Demon Slayer faction's absolute carry, a transcendent player with combat skills rivaling Kokushibo's.
But now that they'd seen him fight?
This wasn't "on par with Kokushibo."
He had surpassed him.
With Kurosaki Rei's sky-high stats on top of that, Dōma and Qingfeng had been killed almost immediately. At this pace, Kokushibo and Akaza couldn't possibly hold him back. Defeat was only a matter of time.
Under these circumstances, if Muzan—with his absurd durability—had joined the fight, there was still a strong chance they could've successfully surrounded and killed Kurosaki Rei.
But this so-called Demon King chose to run.
Truly—
We ministers were ready to die in battle. Why did Your Majesty surrender first?
The explorers sank into despair, fully realizing just how cursed their faction was.
Their leader possessed tremendous power—but also the heart of a coward.
The worst kind of idiot leader.
Yet after despair and fury came resolve.
For the explorers who were still alive, desperation turned into motivation.
If they wanted to live—
They had no choice but to fight with everything they had.
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